Winter storm update: Flood insurance

Heavy rains over the weekend raised rivers high throughout the region, but the storms this morning began moving to the southeast. Many rivers in the region, according to FEMA, crested Sunday night, with longer rivers cresting Tuesday or Wednesday.

Our agency's particularly interested in south King County's Green River Valley, where we've set up what's called a "market assistance plan" to help businesses find flood insurance coverage. According to FEMA, the amount of rain falling in that area "is not expected to be of concern for Howard Hanson Dam operations or for flooding on the lower Green River Basin."

Still, this is probably a good time for a reminder: Contrary to what many people think, standard homeowners coverage and business insurance policies do not cover damage from floods. For flood protection, you generally have to buy a separate flood insurance policy. If your property is in a flood hazard area, you'll probably be required by your lender to have this coverage.

Fortunately, flood coverage is widely available through the National Flood Insurance Program. For more on that, and a link to an easy site to check your property's flood-risk profile, see our flood page.